Jack Lang, who heads up the UN investigation team for piracy off the coast of Somalia briefed reporters this afternoon on current initiatives to combat the ongoing crime wave. Lang has asked for over twenty-five million in additional funds to mitigate “Somaliazation” as he referred to, and to boost efforts by naval forces and the international community to more securely protect the Somali and surrounding waters.
“Piracy still increases. One of the reasons is there is a sense of impunity. The ships or boats in 9 times out of 10 are compelled to free the pirates. So do we do nothing, or do we try to find more effective solutions?” Lang said.
He added the UN has begun to expand the construction of piracy courts. The UN will utilize the UNODC (UN Office of Drugs and Crime) as the main agency to monitor the crimes. The twenty five million will be used over a three year period. As reported to the Security Council, Lang noted that piracy is now being viewed as an “economy” and the methods, sophistication, and levels used to operate the organization are very well structured. Lang said the methods are similar to those used by the mafia. The last ransom paid to pirates was nine million US dollars and the money is often used to strengthen their operation by upgrading equipment. The rest of the stolen funds are then invested and laundered into neighboring countries.
One of the key remaining issues in trying the pirates is the prosecution of minors. Some pirates are as young as 10 and 11 years old. The UN is looking into ways to protect minors from legal cases and to ensure their protection.
Lang wants to gather evidence and pursue a prosecution of all leaders of the piracy trade.
“There is a race between the pirates and the rest of the world. If we do not act quickly, we will reach a point of no return. We can not spare our spending here. Piracy costs between 5-7 billion francs (some 9 billion in US dollars) an increase in prices and loss of activity in the fishing and tourist industry. We need to make effective decisions here,” he added.